Key selector and container



April 14, 1953 o. SEELY 34, 00

KEY SELECTOR AND CONTAINER Filed Sept. 30, 1947 Patented Apr. l4, 1953UNITED STATES .ATENT OFFICE 2,634,600 KEY SELECTOR AND CONTAINER OliverSeely, Long Beach, Calif.

Application September 30, 1947, Serial No. 776,937 4 Claims. 01. 70456)This invention relates to improvements in key selector and container,and is generally designed as an improvement upon and modification of theconstruction disclosed in the patent granted to me November 19, 1946,No. 2,411,168.

In the accompanying drawing, in which similar reference charactersindicate similar parts in each of the views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the container; the view applies to eachof the forms of the invention disclosed herein,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a container of the simpler type in whichthe partitions are omitted,

' Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the containertype shown in Fi ure 2,

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views taken respectively onlines i4, 5-5 and 66 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the body portion or shellstructure of Figure 2 with the pin formation shown as removed fromkey-holding position,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the shell body portion,

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the annular skirt member, with capremoved,

Figure 10 is a top plan view of a container of the preferred typeincluding partitions,

' Figure 11 is a longitudinal section on line of the container of Figure10, showing partitions of one form with the butt end section used withsuch form,

Figure 12 is a transverse section on line |2--|2 of Figure 11,

Figure 13 is a longitudinal section similarvto Figure 11, but showing asecond form of partition with its complemental butt end section, and

' Figure 14 is a transverse sectional View taken on line |4|4 of Figure13.

The invention is being disclosed in two general forms-the preferred formwhich includes partitions to provide individual pockets for the keys,and the simpler form which omits the partitions; in omitting thepartitions the butt end section of the container may also be changed. Inother respects the container is generally similar in both forms. Due tothe general similarity in structure, the following description willfirst present the simpler form to bring out the features in commonbetween the two broad forms, this then being followed by the descriptionof the preferred form to bring out the changed construction.

.In the key-housing portion of the container assembly, 20 designates thebody portion, this being in the form of material shaped to the desiredform; the shaped member is shown in Figure 8. This portion includes asemi-circular zone 2|, open at its top, into which the bit portions ofthe keys extend, the zone being located at an intermediate portion ofthe length of such body portion; at one end of the zone 2| the blankincludes a pair of tabs 22 and an annular ridge 22a designed tocooperate with a butt end section to be presently described, to anchorportion 20 to such section, while the structure at the other end of zone2| is in the form of a pair of generally planar members forming sidewalls 23 spaced apart a distance sufficient to permit of the location ofthe butt ends of the keys between the walls. Hence the dimensions andcontour of such side walls are such as to overlie and protect theopposite sides of a group of keys adapted to be housed therebetween. Theportions of walls 23 adjacent zone 2| are bridged at the bottom by abridging wall 24, this having a length suflicient to provide astiffening effect while leaving a material length of walls 23 free to beflexed inwardly, as presently described.

The keys are supported with their butt ends located between walls 23,the support being in the form of a removable pin formation 25, shown inFigure 7, and which includes a head and stem with the latter ofsufiicient length to extend through both walls 23, the latter havingopenings to permit the passage of the stem. Underlying the head of thepin is a non-circular key portion 2Eshown as elongatedadapted to bepositioned in an opening 23a of one of the side walls 23, while the freeend of the stem is provided with an annular groove 21 spaced from suchend, with the portion of the stem between the groove and such end formedto provide a key 28, as by fiattening opposite sides; key 28 ispreferably of less dimensions than key 26 and opening 23a through whichit passes en route to and through an opening 23b of the opposite sidewall and which is of complemental contour to that of key 26; the contourarrangement of keys 26 and 28 and opening 23a and 23b is such that key26 will not enter its opening when key 28 is in position to enter intoand pass through opening 23b. The pin must be rotated angularly afterkey 28 has passed through its opening to permit key 28 to enter itsopening 232:. Hence, while the contours of the keys and their openingsare complemental individually and the arrangement of the contours of thepair of keys and of the pair of openings may be simi lar, suchsimilarity is present with but one of the two pairs, the other of thepairs being dissimilar as to arrangement. In the drawing, the keys havethe similar arrangement with the direction of length of the openingsextending at relative right angles; a reversal of this arrangement willproduce similar results.

The length of the stem of pin 25 is such that the side Walls 23 are intheir normal positions when key 26 is seated in its opening 23a, theopposite side Wall then being positioned in groove 27. This conditioncannot be produced when assemblihgth structure excepting by firstflexing the side walls inwardly to permit key 28 to pass through opening23?), after which the pin is. rotated angularlywith the flexingmaintained until key 26 alines with opening '23); whereupon release ofthe flexure permits key- Zfito enterits opening; the pin rotation servesto shift key 28 (then outside of its side wall into non-ali'ningrelation to opening 232), thus locking, the pin in position. To removethe pin, the sidewalls are first flexed te unseat key 25, after whichthe pin is rotated angularly to, aline key 28; and slot 2 3 b (thuspreventing re seating of'key 2'6), a'it'er'which releaseof the flexurepermits the pinto be withdrawn.

2 9'designates a butt end section, preferably oi circular contour, andsecured to the body portion a t 'the end of the latter opposite the locatioii' of "side walls 23 One end zone of section 29 is of reducedcross-section to form a circular face about which such body portion'endismounted; to' secure the body portion in position thereon, the zonefaceis provided with a recess to receive tabs 22 and, an annular recess toreceive the annular ridge sectionzzgt, when the tabs 22 are bent andsecured with a tight fit; this serves to lock'th'e bodyportion andsection together.

'At an intermediate point in the length of section ZQQthe latter isprovided with a diametrically-extending bore 3l open at one end andclosed at'the other end, the dimensions of the bore "being such as to'freely receive a spring 32 and a pair of balls 33 presently referredto. In addition, the opposite end zone of section 29 is provided withan'aniiular'groove 34 adapted. to

receive one or more balls '35-.for a purpose presently referred to 3B isa tubular member which surrounds the periphery of the butt end section 29;and has a length sufficient tosubstantially reach to the beginning ofthe side walls 23 the length being suflicient to permit the member tooverlie both bore 3! and the annular groove 34 015 the butt end section.This end of, the, member is. pro-.- vided with one or morev openings 31positioned in theend zone of the memberQsaid opening or openings beingdesigned to form seats for the. ball'or balls 35, the relative locationsbeing such that when the member is in position, it will be practicallyheld by the seated. ball or balls 3.":

against endwise'or longitudinal movement, but

permitting free rotative movement of the member relative to theconnected'body portion. and

the butt end section.

The member is also provided with a. series of spaced openings 38 alined,as to position, with the bore 3!, said openings 38 being designed toform individual seats fora ball 33 ,'when rota; tion of the memberbrings the opening into aline- Y ment with the bore; in addition themember has tioned approximately symmetrical to the series of openings38, and is designed to permit the exposure of a selected key aspresently explained.

The assembly is completed by a cap element 40 which is designed tooverlie and conceal the outer end of the butt end section and to overlieand be secured to the end zone of member 36 including openings 31 and38, the element being preferably knurled peripherally and having athin-walled zone to, produce a semi-skirt appearance overlying theopenings 38. In practice, the cap element 30 and member 36 havedimensions such as to set up the relationship cealed groove 34 andball35, thu prevent oi a drivefit. or other locking method between them,with the result that the member 36 operativelyflorms a skirt for the capelement 40, the two rotating together with openings 31, 38 and33aconceale'd1 Ir 1 the; commercial marketing of the container thusassembled, the manufacturer includes a number of washers, indicated atil, thesebeing ar ed; y pin. ,5 and design d 0- 3 3? he place of missingkeys, The purchaser removes awasher for each key. that helocateswithinthe container. In some. instances, the washers may be interposedwith. additional, thin washers, Md designed torbe retained in serviceto. keep the. keys out of contact with each other an dperrnit greater redom nthe wi ing rnovement oi a key; in addition, the thin washerswilltend to preserve the positions of the keys lengthwiseof the con; tainerand thusaid in the selectivity of keys now referred to in detail.

The cap 40 and its skirt 36 is positioned with the, slot 39 awayiromaposition overlying the open top of the, body. portion; this position issecured by. rotating the cap ,unt il.ball 33 e ngages its seat inopening" 3811, spring 3 2 retaining the. ballin this position sufiicientto retain the eondition. while, the, container is, being carried in thepocket. Theuser is presumed to know the specific arrangement oifthe.contained keys-so that he will know which key is to be exposedjor a.particular service, When theuser desiresto expose a desired key, the cap40 is rotated, thus bringing the seriesof openings. 38 to the. positionof ball 33, thellattgi ielding. when the .ball is inunseated position.Sinceithe .seatingin an opening tends to produce aclick sound, it is 10$: sible tolocate the skirt, slot 39 over any particular key by notingthe I number. on clickslasthe. series of openings '38,,are.suc,cessively moved over. the position of ball 33. For instance,if the ;tl 1ir,d key is desired, the third click will pli perly. position the slot relative to the desired keyjan action, h ch m y. nc v r-line t: ii i h k H ge h on ainer. hen. n er ed? e cause the selectedkey toswinglon pin 25 and put} Qf he. od a t ng-fo u e. i f fl sa hgt yis swung back to its housing; positiqn and -the,

as s-st n hichsl qwsc h u e balltQ-tum:

Tfisly- As isv apparent, h pa ticula a r n ement.-

v s a numbe of; advanta s. The as eld r nsi in .m9v mnt y; he c actionsare required in the regimen, any accidental flexing action when thecontainer is in the pocket should not release th secured condition,since the pin must be rotated in addition to the flexing. The structureis formed in such manner as to facilitate its construction as comparedwith the earlier form shown in the patent above identified, thusmaterially reducing the cost of the assembly. The specific arrangementwhich provides the audible click condition, renders the assembly usablewith greater facility and assurance as to key selectivity.

The preferred type of assembly difiers from the above through theaddition of physical partitions between th keys so that each key ismounted within its individual compartment. This assures greater accuracyin key selectivity, through the assurance that the key will always be inaccurate alinement with the positioned slot 39. With the above describedform it would be possible for keys to slightly cant and thus requirecontainer manipulation to restore the desired key to its alinedposition. The washers 4m will tend to prevent such canting, but sincethe bit zone of the keys is not actually part1- tioned, slight cantingwould be possible, requiring the container manipulation referred to ifcanting be present. With the preferred type, complete partitioning ispresent, and since openings 38 are positioned to accurately place slot39 relative to the partitioning in the bit zone, assurance is had thatproper alinement between the selected key and slot 39 will be presentwhenever the cap is rotated to bring the proper opening 38 intoalinement with ball 33.

Two forms of partitions 42 and 45 are disclosed, but both forms presentthe partition as of thin sheet material, preferably metal, theseapproximating the shape of a key blank but having a length such as topermit securing of one end zone to the butt end section; because of suchsecured relation, certain changes are also required in th butt endsection. Th opposite end of the partition 46 is apertured at 46c and iscarried by pin 25. Since the partitions 42 and 45 are not integral withthe body portion-as in the patented formthe partition end zones whichco-operate with the pin 25 are held spaced by the presence of the keys;because of this, it is preferred to include washers 4! to provide thisspacing in the absence of keys, the washer being removed when the key isbeing positioned; washers 41a would not be needed, since these arereplaced by the partitions.

In section 44, the portion of the section which underlies tabs 22 isformed with a plurality of parallel kerfs 45 extendin verticallydownward from the upper periphery a distance sufiicient to receive theperforated ends of the partitions. The side walls of the kerfs arecorrespondingly perforated so that when the partitions are in positionpin 43 can be inserted, thus mounting the partitions to the section 44so that the partitions will have a slight movement along the pin 43. Inpractice, such assembly is made prior to the mounting of the butt endsection within the body portion 26, the ends of tabs 22 then being bentdown into and secured within the adjacent recess.

In the form shown in Figure 13, the butt end zone of the partition 46 isprovided with a kerf 46a extending inwardly from the lower side edgethus producing a tongue 461) at such end of the partition. This requiresa change in the butt end section to meet this change in partition form.As indicated in Figure 13, this end 20116 of section 4'! is formed withan undercut zone 41a the lower portion of which is closed by a verticalwall 41b which, in practice extends into kerf 46a by simply passin thetongue 46b into the space behind wal1 41b. *In assembling this form thepartitions are first secured to the body portion by pin 25, after which.the opposite ends of the partitions ar assembled to the butt endsection 41 through slots 45a (at which time the tongue can be readilypassed to position) and the body portion then secured to section 4! withthe tabs 22 extending into the recess in the wall of the undercut. Theremainder of the butt end section 41 is similar to that of section 29.

As is apparent, either of the butt end sections 44 and 41 may be usedfor that shown as section 29, by simply omitting the partitions from theforms shown in Figures 11 and 1 since the key bit does not enter intothe butt and section.

The advantage of the preferred type comes through the presence of thepartitions which produce the individual key-receiving spaces, thusrestricting the zone within which the k y is located and thereby assuresthat the bit end of the key will be within the range of the positionedslot 39, thus assuring accurate selectivityespecially with the Figure 11form, in which the partitions are substantially spaced (the butt ends ofthe keys or the washer substitutes practically spaces this end of thepartition). As a result, complete assurance is had that positionin ofthe ca permits free movement of the selected key. The advantag isparticularly apparent where the container does o contain the fullequipment of keys.

As is apparent, both types of assemblages are such that the productionof the container is greatly simplified and rendered less costly ascompared with the patented form. It'is lighter, more compact, andaccommodates a greater variety of keys. In addition, the key positioningand removal is simplified with assurance had that the positioned keyscannot be displaced accidentally, any change in this respect requiringintentional action. The keys are so housed as to avoid any possibilityof exposure of the bit end other than intentionally, thus avoidingdamaging of the user's pocket in which the container is carried. Whenthe container is assembled the structure of the butt end zone isrendered permanent, since the securing means for this zone is concealedand therefore incapable of being accidentally affected. The audibleclick simplifies the use of the container since the user is not requiredto inspect the structure to assure proper selection of a key; thecontainer can thus be used under conditions of darkness. These aredefinite advantages to be found in the use of the invention.

While I have herein shown and described the invention and several waysin which it may be provided, it will be understood that changes and/ormodifications therein may be found desirable or essential in meeting theexigencies of service use and/or the individual desires of a user. Itherefore reserve the right to make any and all such changes and/ormodifications so found desirable or essential, insofar as the same mayfall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in theaccompanying claims, when broadly construed.

amend What is claimed as nevwisr I; A; key container: comprising abody,body including a: tubular portion having amopezr top; and: said; bodyincluding -a pair" oi paralleland: spaced; planar: sida members:integrally formed with. the tubular portion,. a. pin'mounta edgi'nsaid".planar:members.and extendingitherea between, a cap rotatablymountednn: said; body; said: can including. a. skirt, said. skirthaving. a slot extending; longitudinally therein, said. slot; being of.awidth to permit only one keyataaq time tomove; edgewise; therethrough,said; skirt: overlying; the. tubular portion of the. body-,. said.skirt. having. a plurality of spaced openings therein,;. and. aspringpressedball mounted in. thebody, and. adapted to enter: saidopeningsinz the skirt to selectively hold said skirt in a pitchdetermined. position,- said. body at the. cap end having an annular.groove therein, and. said skirt having. another. opening, and. a ballpartially, in. said groove, andsaid. last-named opening carried, by,the; skirt .mem'ber,. whereby longitudinal.

'between; a plurality of partitions, extending.

lengthwise. from.v saidtubular portion,, means. loosely attaching. oneend of. each: of. said. partitions; to; said. body,..the, other end ofeach of' said partitions being supported by said. pin, said.

partitions'being, movable laterally of. the body; on said pin, ,a caprotatably mountedlon saidbod'y,

said' can including a skirt',,said' skirt having/a slot extendinglongitudinally therein, said slot" being of a width-to, permit only onekey at.v a time to move'edgewi'se therethrough, said; skirt overlying?the tubular, portion of, the bo dy,. said skirthaving a' plurality ofspaced openingstherein, and a spring; pressed ball. mounted. in.

thebody anda'dapteditoenter saidopenings in the skirt toselectivelyiholdsaid skirt .in a pre.'- determined position;

3. A key; container comprisi g; a, body,, said.

body, including a tubular portion. having ,an open 1 top, and saidvbody; including. a pair of-paralleli and. spaced planar side membersintegrally formed with. the tubular portion a pinmbunteed in said'planarmembers and extending: there'- slot being of a! widthito-permit-only onekey at a time to move edgewise therethrough,. said: skirt overlying.-the tubular. portion. of: the body, said skirthaving a plurality ofspaced: openings therein,. and a. spring; pressed ballmounted inthebodyand adapted toentersaid openings; in:v

the skirt toselectively hold: said. skirt in apredetermined position,said body at. the cap end" having; an annular groovei. thereim. andsaid? skirt having, another opening; and a ball. pare tiaily' in. saidgroo'vei and said; last named. open ing carried; by theskirt:member',whereby: longitudinal: movement. of the cap: relative: to the.

body. isaprevented;

4;.A. key container" comprising abody, said body: including a. tubularportion having an open top, and-said body including a pair of par alleland. spaced planar sidemembers integrally formed with the tubularportion, a pin' mounted in both of saidgplanar; members and extende ingtherebetween, a plurality of. partitions extending lengthwisefrom-said-tubular. portion,.,

said partitions each havingan aperture thereinthrough which the; pin:extends, said, aperturesloosely fitting the pin to permit sliding.

movement of the partitions. onthe" pin after the parts are assembled; asecond. pin inthe body extending; transversely through all. of thepartitions and said partitionshaving a limited slidable movement: along.the. last namedpin. 40% when: in final assembled position to permit keysof various thicknesses. to be: mounted; between said partitions. V I

OLIVER-1 SE-E'LY,

References Cited'in theflfile- 0f thispatent" UNITED STATES PATENTS.

Number Name Date 1;649,'402 Gildemeist'e'r Nov-.'15, 1'927' 1 ,837,151Edwards Dec. 15; 1931 23001979 Simpkins Nov; 3, 1942 21402347 RotheraineJune 18;'1946 2,411,168 Seely NOV. 19; 1946

